Any other students with chronic illness?

[Mamasaphire]

:iagree: I am a cancer survivor, who also has a Connective Tissue Disorder, and a slew of other health issues that wax and wane, which I won't bore people with. My health issues were the reason I took several years off of the forum.

I have to say, having the support of all you folks here at the forum (!!!) and the CBE/transfer method are such a help. Amazing, really, and enabling me to finally, as an adult learner, get my BA. cheersmate

[keepsingin]

I too am a Superhuman.

love this

No chronic illness, but I think most everyone here had some adversity they had to overcome to make their degree happen. Color me totally impressed and inspired by your perseverance.

Thanks for the encouragement, davewill!

I have posted about the beginning of my time at TESU a lot, but didn't disclose some issues until I posted my "I'm done" thread. I danced professionally for years, & went through a lot from that which I had some PTSD from. Eventually I ruined my left knee, which left me without work. Then I had an a permanent injury on the right knee just before I had surgery on the left. My home life involved domestic violence that eventually left me with multiple back injuries, & contributed more to the PTSD and lead to depression. I'm starting to feel much better mood wise, it helped my confidence that I was finally able to find a job and finish my degree all while dealing with some pretty severe verbal & physical domestic violence. I now deal with chronic pain in both knees and my entire back though, especially the tailbone. I've also had horrible migraines for years. Its hard to make any sort of study schedule when you aren't sure if you are safe, if you'll still have a place to live tomorrow, how long you can sit and try to concentrate/learn until the back pain gets too severe, or if you have to deal with migraines that can go from hours to days. Its slowed me down for sure, & I put on a lot of weight as a result (60lbs). At least finishing at TESU I could work at my own pace & even lay on my stomach to study instead of dealing with as much back pain from sitting up. I have a lot of mornings still where I just wake up in a ton of pain, which is miserable, and I've learned to schedule my whole day around how much I can physically/emotionally handle.

Wow, you deserve special recognition for pushing through despite your circumstances. PMed you.

Lindagerr and Mamasaphire, thanks so much for sharing your stories! It's so uplifting to see others who have accomplished their goals with chronic health issues. And I totally agree that all the wonderful supporters don't get recognized nearly enough!

Thanks again for the responses, everyone; y'all are great!

[High_Order1]

I'm sick of my job
I'm sick of living in NYC

but I guess those don't count

I'm kind of surprised you didn't get any support in this thread.

Being stuck where you are, for whatever reason, can be debilitating. Feeling like you are trapped with no real options must be horrible. I think tons of people are like you, because I don't believe we as a species were meant to be lashed to a cubicle and keyboard, fed poorly, and given just enough glimpse of the carrot to make us continue our path to the idol 'credit' than to say fooey on all this and learning to be mostly self-sufficient.

People not in your shoes might suggest doing something different.

I've dealt with attempted murder survivors who would go back in a heartbeat because it is all they knew, and they were more terrified of change than of death.

So, while I'm not in your situation (I love where I live, and I am trying to recover from losing the career that defined me), I can empathize with your plight.

Medical conditions aren't the only things that can ruin quality of life.

OP,
I'm sorry to hear you are where you are so soon in your story.

At least it sounds you have family support and medical resources to help you mitigate your symptoms.

I've literally had physicians tell me my chronic fatigue is all in my head. Maybe it is. But I don't think so.

I'm not going to lie to you and tell you anything is possible if you just try hard enough. I think that's the source of a lot of this generations issues.

But I will say that you have a lot of life left in front of you, and a huge world that is just waiting for you to take a step. I encourage you to get outside of your comfort zone as often as possible; try things that don't interest you at the moment; and try to learn something from every situation and person you encounter.

Rarely does a young persons' journey end up as originally planned. But the most boring ones are planted in people who stop paddling!

Warm thoughts to all in this thread!